Vehicle rolls 50 feet down embankment

Wednesday

May 8, 2013 at 11:01 AMMay 8, 2013 at 11:09 AM

By Ami RidlingDaily News Staff Writer

YREKA – A motorist sustained minor injuries Tuesday morning when she lost control of her vehicle on Highway 263 in Yreka and it rolled 50 feet down an embankment. Shelly Collins, 20, of Yreka, was transported by Mount Shasta Ambulance to Fairchild Medical Center where she received treatment for her injuries.

California Highway Patrol (CHP) Public Information Officer Nick Black said rescue personnel were dispatched to the scene, just south of Dry Gulch Bridge, at 7:51 a.m. He said the accident occurred when Collins was traveling at approximately 45 miles per hour northbound on Highway 263 in a white 2001 Ford Taurus.

For unknown reasons, her right-side tires veered to the east shoulder. When she attempted to steer the vehicle to the left, she reportedly lost control and the vehicle veered to the left shoulder and bolted down the embankment. The vehicle collided with an oak tree and came to a rest on its side approximately 50 feet down the embankment.

According to Black, witnesses assisted Collins out of her totaled vehicle and up the embankment to the highway where she was transported for medical care. The Ford Taurus was subsequently towed.

Highway 263 was subject to one-way traffic controls in the vicinity of the accident for approximately 20 minutes.

The CHP was assisted at the scene by representatives from the Siskiyou County Sheriff’s Office, California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, Mount Shasta Ambulance and Yreka Fire Department.